


The Doctor's Best Friend

by sleepismyfriend



Category: Doctor Who (1963), Sarah Jane Adventures
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-11-04
Updated: 2015-11-04
Packaged: 2017-12-31 13:17:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1032126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleepismyfriend/pseuds/sleepismyfriend
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Doctor once again makes an appearance in Sarah's life, appearing older and more haggard than she's ever seen him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Spydurwebb](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spydurwebb/gifts).



> One day, one day it too shall be finished. (Rewritten from original version that began in 2010.)

Standing in front of Mr Smith with her arms crossed, Sarah Jane Smith felt the ticks of her late aunt Lavinia's tall mahogany clock digging away at her silence. By all accounts, it had been an uneventful morning on Bannerman Road, as she herded her teenagers off to Park Vale with the usual hustle and bustle. 

Covered in smudges, Clyde had stayed up late sketching a charcoal abstract portrait for his art module, having forgotten to read the last act of Henry V while Luke had done his entire physics homework for the next two weeks with the help of Mr Smith and Google. Either Luke or Rani said something about giving Clyde a quick summary on the way to avoid the Shakespearean wrath of Mrs Fletcher, but by that point, Sarah wasn't paying close attention. 

The house quieted after their departure. Sarah made a thermos of tea, and headed for the attic, intent on being productive during this rare occasion of downtime. From her desk on the landing, she sipped her tea, and picked at several unfinished documents on her laptop. Mr Smith's panels remained open and lit but silent. 

She halfway micro-edited a boring article on soil compositions for Gardening Weekly before growing agitated, and moving to her workbench. She spent thirty minutes with a small hand welder trying to sort an alien equivalent of a broken carburettor until a headache settled in, and she pushed the project to the side.

Now, with her thumbs in her back pockets, she stood in front of her supercomputer with nothing else she needed or wanted to do. Until, she heard several loud fizzling sounds emanate from outside.

"Mr Smith?"

"Sarah Jane, I detect the presence of three—" Sarah didn't give the supercomputer a chance to finish before bolting out the door and down the stairs, her sonic lipstick tucked into her back pocket. At last, Sarah thought, something useful to do. She flung her front door open, only to discover three dark-skinned Judoon facing her in a triangular formation on her doorstep.

"Human, Sarah Jane Smith—" Though his heavy black armour was slightly different in texture and shape from the two behind him, the obvious leader of the three spoke English in a heavy sounding accent through the circular red translator sticking out from his neck. 

"Yes?" Sarah straightened, grateful she had made the conscientious effort to close the gate last night. Because when left open, children still poked their heads into her yard, hoping to see something out of the ordinary they could tell their parents and friends about. 

Sarah had seen enough stares lately to know her street cred hadn't faded.

"We have a known associate of yours in in our custody. You will come with us."

"You must be joking." Sarah watched as the head Judoon pulled a thin dark grey computer pad from his belt. If she hadn't known better, she could have sworn it was one of those e-readers she and Rani discussed last week. However, once he began reading from it, she knew it was no ordinary device.

"You are Sarah Jane Smith, former companion of the Doctor. You have been seen on the worlds of Exxilon, Peladon, Metabelis, Skaro, Zeta Minor, Karn, and Kastria throughout time. We are not joking." He held out the pad for her to inspect. 

The pad's screen contained a comprehensive profile of Sarah's life, sorted by time period and galaxy. Several of her recent adventures on Earth were even prominent enough to make the cut as the words _Wormwood, Tybo, and Androvax_ appeared at the bottom in tiny bullet points. Sarah didn't know whether to laugh or cry; her adventures were far more noted than she thought.

Sarah knew this sudden appearance by the Judoon had to be about the Doctor. He was different on his last visit. Different as though some great catastrophe was about to erupt in the universe, and he planned on being at the centre of the chaos. She remembered his last words and wistful smile. Whatever the chaos was, she hoped it was gone.

Sarah held out the pad for the head Judoon to take back, glad she was on her own for this one. Because if the Doctor were in fact swept up in something terrible, the danger would be much more than her usual. She couldn't risk something happening to her son, Rani, or Clyde.

"This way." The head Judoon turned, and Sarah exhaled, closing the front door behind her. As they moved away from the doorstep, she could see the crescent marks left by their teleportation on her driveway, and was quite glad they hadn't materialized on top of the Figaro. 

"Yoo hoo, Sarah darling." Gita's shrill sprang from the other side of the gate, and Sarah's eyes closed. Since the wedding fiasco, Gita had taken it upon herself to be available to Sarah in any form possible. Sarah more or less thought the effort obtrusive, but did her best to curtail the blooming florist's friendly demeanour and baking skills. After all, she knew she couldn't be friends with Rani without being civil to her mother.

"One moment, please." Sarah held up a finger, darting to the gate's entrance to stop Gita. She managed to open the gate, as the florist had her hand on the gate latch. "Gita, lovely afternoon, isn't it?"

"It is," Gita grinned, her hands holding a covered plate. "Thought you might like some fairy cakes with your afternoon tea. I've heard you're partial to white with chocolate frosting."

"That sounds lovely, really, but I'm just about to step out—" 

"Oh well, I could show myself in and leave these for you. I'm very good about making sure I close doors behind me." Gita's smile widened, and Sarah checked behind her to make sure the Judoon were still standing near her car. She needed Gita to go away, and fast. 

"I've got a bit of an infestation, you know, the kind you kill with a bomb? The house isn't the best. Why don't you bring those by later, hmm? When the house is better? I'm sure the kids will love them."

Sarah saw the wheels turning in Gita's mind, as if she could see right through her peddled excuse. Hearing several grunts between the Judoon behind her, Sarah didn't have to look to know their patience was wearing thin. 

"Alright, Sarah darling, I'll come back later. Let me know if you need any help with that—Infestation." She scrunched up her nose, making a circular motion with her finger, as Sarah nodded. Gita then turned and walked back across the street. Sarah could see her shaking her head, as she entered her house, and closed the door. This wasn't the time for Sarah to debate whether or not she had offended her neighbour once again.

Sarah latched the gate, giving herself a second to collect her thoughts before joining the three Judoon. "Ready when you are."

The head Judoon hit a button on his wristband, lifting it to his mouth to give a command. A few seconds later, a transmit beam shimmered around them, as Sarah left Bannerman Road and her drive behind.

\--

Sarah stepped down from the glowing transportation pad, following the three Judoon while looking at her new surroundings. The room they had transported into was small, but the sliding doors on the far wall led into a series of wide metal corridors.

As they entered the corridor, several armed Judoon with helmets and spears marched in a straight formation past them. The head Judoon remained in front of her, as they turned right down one corridor, then left down the next, and then straight on towards what Sarah assumed was a lift.

Along this corridor was a large glass window, allowing an open view of the Earth below. It had been several years since Sarah had left her home planet. She found herself staring out at the various colours of blue and brown, and marvelling at the sight. The International Space Station came into view, and Sarah wondered if the astronauts inside knew what was hovering near them.

"You will keep moving." The head Judoon was to the lift when he glanced back to notice she had stopped.

Sarah sighed, realizing her presence on this ship was for something more important than an extraordinary view. She walked the rest of the way to the lift, stepping inside the middle of the three Judoon. 

"Where are you taking me?"

"Bho mo jo fro," the head Judoon replied, his answer activating the lift controls as a slight hum took over and Sarah felt the lift drop. She looked over at the head Judoon as he said: "Level fourteen."

"Fourteen? How big is this ship?" Sarah asked, to no answer. She knew the ship must be large if they had to go down to reach level fourteen. As the lift dinged, its doors opened, and the head Judoon exited first. 

This level was different from the metal corridors Sarah had seen, with an expansive ceiling and rows of metal doors with narrow windows. She found it unusual there was no sound to accompany the mass amounts of prisoners held on one level, but supposed their prison cells were soundproof. When the head Judoon stopped in front of one of the metal doors, he punched in a long string of numbers into the door's keypad before it slid open of its own accord. 

In the centre of the cell an unconscious man lay on the floor. He was bulkier than Sarah expected, leading her to think this was a Doctor she wasn't familiar with. A long brown coat covered most of him. 

"What did this man do?" Without thinking, Sarah stepped into the cell to get a closer look at his face. Short white curls covered the top of his head, as dirt and dried blood lined one side of his face. She realized from his prominent features this was an older version of the Doctor who had left her in Aberdeen. Even with the long coat, she could still see familiar trails of the colourful scarf he used to wear sticking out from under him. It took everything she had not to fall to the floor, and scoop him up in her arms.

"He stole a diamond from the crystalline resort planet Midnight."

"And so he was beaten for his crime? Is that how Galactic Law works now? You beat them up and shove them in a cell to rot?" Sarah did her best to remain calm. Her outward emotions would have to wait till she was off this ship and back on Earth, but her inner ones were furious. Even if he was trying to steal a thousand diamonds, the Doctor had done so much for the universe to be held unconscious on some alien prison barge.

"He resisted arrest," the head Judoon said, once against pulling the computer pad from his belt and pressing several things before holding it out to Sarah. No longer were the details of Sarah's life printed on the screen. Instead, there was a larger alien font made of shapes and squiggles with a blank square towards the bottom corner. "He must be processed for release. Fingerprint only." 

Sarah did as the Judoon asked, placing her thumb in the square. She had signed for the Doctor before in their adventures, but he had always been able to stand of his own volition with a wide smile. She handed back the computer pad, and the head Judoon exited. 

“Now, wait just a minute. Where do you think you're going? You will return us to Earth immediately, or else I will have a word with the Shadow Architect." With the sonic lipstick in her back pocket, Sarah hoped the Judoon played to her bluff. However, her words fell on deaf rhino-looking ears, as the door hissed shut. 

As she turned, Sarah's thoughts went to the injured Time Lord on the floor. Why was this version of the Doctor so old looking? Was it a future incarnation? A younger incarnation turned old? So many possibilities as she looked around. Besides the black walls staring back at her, there was nothing of use around them. 

The overhead fluorescent lights were not kind either, Sarah thought. Her older eyes burned, and she felt a headache coming on. If these were the types of methods the Judoon were employing to torture people, Sarah was convinced they were succeeding.

Maybe not bringing her young ones wasn't such a great idea after all. They'd help her think of a plan while also providing much needed assistance. Well, that thought was neither here nor there now. Sarah crouched down close to his head and flipped open her watch. Sure enough, it confirmed her suspicions. 

"You're a mess, Doctor, but I suppose you know that." The words hadn't left her mouth before the Doctor's older form began moving. His movements remained slow, as his arms and legs pulled as inward as they could. When he couldn't generate enough strength to pull himself up, Sarah reached for him, helping him shift onto one side and then his back. His head ended up in her lap as she sat, her left leg stretched out with the right tucked under her.

A rather inarticulate groan came from the Doctor's lips, as his body began to twitch. Combining that with the visible cuts and bruises, Sarah could tell the Judoon hadn't been kidding about the use of excessive force. She rested one hand on his chest, and ran the other through his white curls. The sooner she could get them both back to Bannerman Road, the better.

Sarah's fingers traced the same paths over and over, as the Doctor shifted. His cheek settled along one thigh while his hand covered the hand Sarah had on his chest. The twitching then stopped.

\--

"Put him in there." Having returned to Bannerman Road and her driveway, Sarah pushed her front door as wide as it would go, motioning the two Judoon carrying the Doctor towards the living room. The head Judoon followed behind. "On the sofa."

The Judoon complied, as Sarah heard the sounds of her teenagers coming in through the gate. Of course, they would come home at a time like this. Sarah had forgotten. It's what a half-day on Friday usually meant. 

"Mo flo bo jo," the head Judoon said, twisting his translator as the other two Judoon headed out, no longer carrying the Doctor. "Have a nice day."

Sarah moved into the living room, ignoring the sounds of Luke, Rani, and Clyde encountering the Judoon. Lucky for her, the Judoon had had enough foresight to lay the Doctor on the sofa on his back.

"Mum?" Despite Rani and Clyde calling her name, it was Luke's voice she heard entering the house first followed by the sounds of the front door slamming shut and school bags being thrown down. 

"In here, Luke," Sarah said, stepping between the sofa and the coffee table to get a better look. The extent of the Doctor's external injuries was now even more visible, but the head Judoon had mentioned an alien world. Mr Smith could provide the details later.

Luke entered, coming the closest to Sarah, while Rani and Clyde remained at the end of the sofa, and closest to the door.

"You should have seen the look on their faces," Clyde laughed, looking to Rani while crossing his arms. "I don't think Tybo taught them anything about us."

"I don't think he was supposed to," Rani replied, turning her attention away from his nonsense. "Sarah Jane, are you alright?" 

"We thought something had happened," Luke said, the fear in his voice most evident.

"I'm fine," Sarah said, waving their concerns away. "But right now, I need you to do as I tell you with no arguments. Clyde, I'll need a dishtowel, some warm sudsy water, and an ice bag."

"I'm on it," Clyde said, leaving first.

"Luke, have Mr Smith run a perimeter scan. If anything and I mean anything pops up out of the ordinary, alien or otherwise, I want to know about it."

"Yes Mum," Luke nodded, before leaving next. 

"And Rani, I need you to find my mobile. I think I left it on my workbench," Sarah pointed upward. "Dr Martha Jones is in my contacts. Tell her who you are, and explain that we have a medical emergency. Coming from my mobile, she'll know what that means."

"Sure thing, Sarah Jane." Rani's eyes darted between Sarah and the Doctor before she left. Sarah sighed, sat down on her coffee table. She then leaned forward, placing both palms on each side of his chest to make sure his hearts were still beating.

_Thump, thump. Thump, thump._

"There and back, just as you asked," Clyde said, re-entering the living room with a large blue bowl and a plaid ice bag, as Sarah leaned back. "Lucky for me, I already knew where your ice bag was. Five points to Langer." 

Clyde smirked, as he set the bowl and ice bag on the table, and took a step back. Sarah then plunged her hands into the hot soapy water, ignoring the stinging temperature, and the reddening of her fingers. She found the dishtowel, and twisted it several times.

"Sarah Jane, this is the Doctor, isn't it?" Clyde's lowered voice didn't go unnoticed. He caught Sarah's glassy eyes, as she nodded.

"Yes, I think so." Cleaning the blood and dirt from the Doctor's face needed to be first priority. Sarah's right hand applied pressure, as her knuckles brushed the Doctor's forehead. 

"Mum? Mr Smith's preliminary findings haven't suggested any major alien activity in our local area." Luke entered, almost out of breath. "With K-9's help, Mr Smith is expanding the search. We should know what's going on planet-wide in a few hours."

"Good," Sarah said, returning the dishtowel to the bowl before starting another sweep of the Doctor's face. Luke and Clyde exchanged glances.

"Sarah Jane, isn't the Doctor able to bounce back from most things?" Clyde asked, thinking of the spiky haired looking Doctor from their recent encounter with the Trickster, and how the Time Lord hadn't appeared fazed by anything. 

"Depends on the danger," Sarah said, trying not to think of all the other times in which she thought he had perished.

"Sarah Jane?" Rani entered, holding Sarah's mobile to her ear. "It took a bit, but I've got Dr Jones on the phone. She says to tell you she's in New York."

By this point, the Doctor's face looked much cleaner, as Sarah returned the dishtowel to the now murky bowl of water, and held her hand out for the mobile. 

"Hello Martha," Sarah sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose before taking a long hard look at the Doctor. She recognized his familiar features even more now. "Yes, it's him, two heartbeats and all. No, I'm afraid I don't know many of the details. He's pretty banged up. Are you sure no one has seen or heard from him recently?"

A pause. "No, I don't think that's necessary. I'm sure I can handle whatever this is for now. I'll keep you updated. Yes, yes, I know. No aspirin under any circumstances."

Clyde mouthed the words: 'no aspirin?' as Luke and Rani shrugged. Sarah then said her goodbyes, and tossed her mobile to the side.

"Sarah Jane?" Rani asked. "What's wrong with aspirin?"

"It would kill him." Sarah stood, picking up the bowl, and holding it out for Clyde to take. "Be a dear, and empty this?" 

"Your wish is my command, my lady," Clyde replied, leaving the room.

"Mum? Is there anyone else we should call?" 

"With Martha in New York and the Brigadier still recovering from Peru—" Sarah touched her son's shoulders. "I'm afraid we'll have to wait till he can tell us what happened."

Sarah then dropped her arms.

"I should probably head home then," Rani sighed. "Mum's been rather homebound lately. It'll be better if I pre-empt her attention. The last thing anyone needs is to have her find out you've got an injured bloke on your sofa."

"Agreed," Sarah said. "Fortunately, she's already tried once today. I had my hands full with the Judoon. So, I made up some story about having an infestation to set her off."

"Infestation? Where?" Clyde entered, pointing backward. "The kitchen looked pretty clean to me?"

Rani glared, punching his arm once he was close enough. "No, stupid. Sarah Jane made up a story about an infestation to keep Mum from seeing the Judoon."

"O—h right," Clyde said, rubbing where Rani had hit him before shrugging. "Makes sense. I doubt our favourite florist is ready for space rhinos."

Sarah cleared her throat, and attempted to explain despite the fact she knew she didn't have to. "It's not that I don't enjoy your mother, Rani, it's just that—" 

"She can be overly imposing on your personal space." Rani finished the sentence. "I get it. Honestly, she wants to be neighbourly. That's all."

"I know," Sarah smiled. "And I want you to know I appreciate your efforts. The fewer people that know he's here, the better off he'll be."

"You're welcome." A tilted smile appeared across Rani's lips. She then linked arms with both Luke and Clyde. "So, boys, why don't you walk me home, hmm? My mum will love hearing about how Clyde royally botched Shakespeare. He is after all, her favourite bard."

"Rani—" Clyde said, half-whining. "You swore you weren't going to tell anyone who wasn't there—" 

"I agreed to no such thing," Rani said, as Clyde groaned. Rani led them towards the door, and Luke shot a look to his mum to make sure she was okay with him leaving. Sarah nodded before they went out of sight. 

At the sounds of school bags being shuffled, and the front door opening and closing, Sarah heard a groan. Her head snapped down and to the right to see the Doctor waking. 

The sound from his lips was reminiscent of the one from when they were on the prison ship, as his right arm came up to rest against his forehead. Sarah moved, sitting in the small space between the curve of his stomach and the edge of the sofa.

"Hey, be careful, alright?" Sarah pulled the Doctor's arm away from his forehead, holding it to his chest. She reached for the ice bag, setting it along his left cheek, as the Doctor winced and his hand came up to cover hers.

The Doctor's eyes opened, and Sarah felt her heart flutter, as his crystal blue eyes studied her face. She moved her hand, allowing him to hold the ice bag on his own. Sarah then bit down on her lip, and looked away, wiping the corners of her eyes. 

"Don't cry, please, Sarah." The Doctor's deep yet soft timbre didn't go unnoticed, as Sarah found herself reliving all the times she had tried to replicate that familiar tone only to have failed. 

"Trying not to, sorry," Sarah said, trying to maintain the smallest of smiles despite the butterflies in her stomach telling her otherwise. 

"It's alright. I suppose I look as ghastly as I feel." The Doctor fought the urge to run his hand through his hair or touch anywhere close to his face. The ice bag was beyond stinging, but he didn’t dare move it quite yet. 

"A bit battered, yes, but not ghastly," Sarah replied. "You're just much older looking than I expected. Here, let me have that."

"That's not possible." The Doctor handed the ice bag over to Sarah, who set it on the table. 

"All things are possible, Doctor." Sarah said, trying to smile again, but instead staring. "The question is how?" 

"I don't know." The Doctor took his left hand, running one finger under Sarah’s jaw, as Sarah bowed her head. He noticed her cheeks' slight blush, while feeling rather heavy pains resonating throughout his body. His hand dropped, and she picked it back up without truly thinking.

Sarah watched his expression change to one of pain and yet clarity. “Let’s just say—I had a rather abrupt visit from the Judoon. They made me sign for you in person.”

“I’m sure they were quite polite.” The Doctor's pain was becoming quite evident, as his grip on Sarah’s hand tightened, and his eyes closed.

“I need you to stay with me until we can figure everything out.” Sarah didn’t want the Doctor to pass back out for any good length of time before she could get to the bottom of his injuries. “Please.”

The Doctor made one attempt at opening his eyes. “As long as you’re here, I'm in good hands. I’ll wake when you need me, I promise. I'm not going anywhere.”

The Doctor closed his eyes once more, and Sarah didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. His grip on her hand remained tight, and she waited until she knew there wasn’t a chance of him waking before pulling away, and making her way up the stairs.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarah and Martha take care of the Doctor, and Sarah introduces Martha to Liz Shaw.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All italics are non-verbal dialogue. You're welcome. lol.

Standing in front of Mr Smith, Sarah turned at the sound of a large sizzle.

"I thought I told you I could handle this," Sarah said, as she waved at the sudden smoke in the air. The young doctor in front of her slipped a hefty black pack off of her back.

"Yes, well, I may have finagled a little," Martha smiled, her hands on her hips. 

"You mean you stole UNIT property, and didn't tell Kate."

"Injured time lords will always be priority one in my book. Anything else including Dr Stewart can wait."

"I expect she'll come looking for you."

"Yeah, yeah, and a stern lecture on the Project Indigo device not being a million dollar personal toy will follow shortly after. It'll be fine, Sarah Jane. I left a note with the squint," Martha said, pulling a stethoscope out of the black pack, and settling it around her neck.

"The squint?" Sarah said, stepping up onto the landing.

"Yeah," Martha replied, motioning to the attic door. "Fresh off her dissertation. Her name's Osgood. She has quite a bit of promise."

\--

Sarah and Martha stood next to Sarah's sofa, staring at the Doctor.

"You weren't kidding," Martha said, adjusting the gloves on her hands. "We'll need to get to his hearts. You did a good job though, cleaning those scratches."

Sarah moved first, reaching for the multi-coloured scarf she knew so well. Her touch remained light, as she lifted his head to uncoil the scarf resting behind his neck. She took a step back once she was finished, holding the familiar colourful texture in her hands. 

Sarah couldn’t resist pulling it close to take deep inhales of the warm yet scratchy wool. Martha paused before speaking. "Think you could help me with his coat?"

Sarah set the scarf to the side, and moved to the one end of the sofa. As she manoeuvred the Doctor's arm through one sleeve, she caught his eyes staring at her. 

"You certainly know how to let a fellow rest, Sarah." The Doctor touched his head, and Sarah frowned.

"Sorry."

"If you really wanted my coat off, you should have asked." The Doctor tried to smirk only to wince. Sarah allowed herself the briefest of touches through his grey curls.

"I didn’t want to disturb you," Sarah said, and the Doctor latched onto the look in her eye.

"Who’s your friend? Aren’t you going to introduce me? Or are you going to let me sit and wait in suspense?" The Doctor smirked again, and Sarah's insides quivered. In some ways, this Doctor was exactly like she remembered.

"I'll let her introduce herself," Sarah said. 

The Doctor struggled to sit up, his right arm held tight across his stomach. Sarah proceeded to help support him, as Martha pulled the rest of the coat. Then, they both helped him recline back onto his back. Sarah grabbed a couch pillow to put behind the Doctor’s head.

"Dr Martha Jones at your service, Doctor," Martha said, a sheepish grin on her face, as she crouched to kneel on the floor.

"Why, hello, Dr Martha Jones. I presume we’ve met." The Doctor studied Martha’s face, and Martha couldn’t help but contain her grin. "Sarah doesn’t trust just anyone with me."

"I have personal experience with that too, I'm afraid." Martha put the Doctor’s coat on top of his scarf. "You don’t mind if I listen to your tickers, do you?"

"By all means," the Doctor smiled. 

Sarah wondered when on Earth he had become such an easy personality to deal with. She remembered other times when his own stubbornness had gotten them into a world of mess, and he had refused to listen or be cared for.

"Try and take a breath for me. As deep as you can without hurting yourself." Martha put the stethoscope on the right side of chest, and he began coughing. 

She then moved to the left side of his chest before pulling back. She rewrapped the stethoscope around her neck. "Well, from the way you’re holding your stomach, I'd say you have a few cracked and bruised ribs that need to be taken care of. Possibly a collapsed lung."

The Doctor winced again.

"And, modern medicine doesn't work in our favour." Martha stood up. "We could have you checked out by UNIT's medical division."

"Why would I let those imbeciles near me?" the Doctor asked, once again trying to sit up. Sarah stepped forward, and braced both of her hands on his shoulders with a gentle downward push.

"She may be wrong about UNIT, but she’s more than likely not wrong about the bruised ribs." The Doctor and Sarah exchanged a look before the Doctor resumed lying down. "Thank you."

"You are making a fuss, Sarah."

"Am I? You were dropped off on my doorstep looking like you just participated in an elephant stampede." Sarah’s face hovered over his. "I have every right to make a fuss. Now, be a good Doctor and let Martha finish looking at you."

The Doctor sighed, grumbling several sounds that Sarah didn’t have the translation to. Taking a step back, she looked at Martha, and nodded her head. Martha moved forward to exam the Doctor’s face.

"Sarah Jane did an excellent job before I arrived." Martha examined the scratches with gentle prods of her fingertips, and the Doctor allowed it without much resistance. "These don’t look so bad, except for this long one. I think it’s going to need a few stitches."

"Superficial lacerations. They’ll heal soon enough," the Doctor said, waving the idea away.

Martha sighed, looking to Sarah. "Sarah Jane, can you get my emergency kit? Its upstairs in the front of my pack."

From the look on her face, Sarah was annoyed, though Martha sensed it had to do more with the Doctor, and less with her request. Martha noticed that the Doctor’s eyes never left Sarah until he could no longer see her.

"What year is it, Martha Jones?" The Doctor asked.

"Uh, it's 2009. The year of the gorilla, some say."

"2009—A rather ordinary year, if I remember correctly." The Doctor’s right hand sat against his forehead.

"Been here before then?"

"Once." The Doctor shifted his head towards Martha. "Though at the time, I was aiming for the year 1492. You know, the year Columbus discovered America? I wanted to have a chat with him about the Santa Maria, which I suspected at the time was housing several questionable beings in the cargo hold. Unfortunately, the TARDIS didn’t exactly agree with my destination."

"The TARDIS doesn’t go anywhere she doesn’t want to go, regardless of her pilot. She goes and lands precisely when and where she means to, no more, no less."

"Indeed. It’s good to know she hasn’t changed." The Doctor tried to smile. However, the uneasiness of Sarah’s exit weighed on him. He sighed. "Unlike me—"

"You are definitely a sight, that’s for sure. Do you know how old you are?"

"Age is merely a number." 

"So, it is. And, since we have no way of knowing how old you are, and what is actually going on inside of you, I’m going to recommend you rest as much as possible once I get that stitched."

"I have no energy for heroics."

"Now, I know you’re really hurt." Martha smiled, straightening. "Though Sarah Jane will take excellent care of you, as long as you behave."

"Are you trying to say I have a penchant for misbehaving, Martha Jones?"

"Do you travel in a TARDIS?"

"Fair point."

"Good. I’m going to go find Sarah Jane. You rest." Martha watched the Doctor close his eyes before turning and walking out of the living room. She paused when she reached the bottom of the stairs, taking one look back towards the living room. 

She found Sarah Jane standing in the attic, standing in front of Mr Smith with the viewscreen active. An older woman sat in the centre of the screen, one that Martha was sure she had seen before. As soon as the older woman looked to Martha, Sarah turned to look at her.

"Sorry, am I interrupting?" Martha said, approaching Sarah.

"I was worried that you couldn't find my kit."

"I'm sorry, Martha. Liz rang, and I wanted to give her an update." Sarah touched the young doctor’s arm once she was in reach, handing her the small kit. "Kate can be rather terrible at introductions. Martha Jones, Dr Elizabeth Shaw."

Sarah watched Martha’s face shift to one of excitement yet calm.

"Ah, yes, the infamous Dr Jones. Our schedules haven't exactly aligned. It is my pleasure to finally meet you. Sarah Jane and Kate have done nothing short of bragging about your accomplishments," Liz smiled.

"The pleasure is mine, Dr Shaw. Though my list of accomplishments is nothing compared to yours. You developed Project Indigo."

"Yes, yes, I did. Although, I can't say I can take credit for the entire design," Liz smiled. "My understanding is that you and your team have made far more advancements in the latter half of research and development than I ever did."

"When the Daleks invaded New York, you saved my life," Martha replied. "So, I owe you for that."

"Yes well, you have a Doctor downstairs, and he’s hurt. Never mind the silly Daleks. What’s his prognosis?" 

"Tickers sound all right, all things considered. He's badly bruised on his right cheekbone, but I don’t think it’s broken. Along the left side of his face is a fairly good laceration that will need stitches. There’s also some minor cuts and scratches, and he likely has some bruised ribs. But, there’s no way of telling what the extent of the damage is without his Zero Room."

"I was always afraid that something like this would happen," Liz said, with a sigh. "No matter how many years or which face he’s on, the man has little concern for anyone but himself."

"Mr Smith is scanning for any trace of the current version of the TARDIS," Sarah said. "So far, we have a nice neat little trail, and then it abruptly stops off into dead space. Almost as if it has vanished."

"I’m sure it hasn’t vanished, Sarah Jane. The TARDIS doesn’t vanish. Disappeared into the Vortex? Marooned on some strange alien planet? Hidden in some nebula gas cloud that hides its energy signature? All things that that are far more possible for the TARDIS."

"I haven't been able to get in touch with Jack," Sarah said. "The rift in Cardiff could really help Mr Smith's search."

"Sarah Jane, I wish you wouldn’t involve yourself with that man. He seemingly brings nothing but trouble to himself and those around him. I’ve seen the latest UNIT reports. You’re going to get hurt."

"Jack is a good man," Martha said. "He only does what he thinks is best."

"Yes, which is half the problem." Liz’s lips formed a straight line. "In his infinite ways of thinking, he sometimes thinks of what is best for himself instead of looking at the bigger picture. I don’t approve of his methods or his personality."

"That’s a bit harsh, don't you think?" Sarah raised one eyebrow, and Liz sighed.

"No, and I really must go. Alistair has us in some godforsaken country under lock and key, and I barely have internet access," Liz said. "In the meantime, keep me informed about the Doctor’s progress."

"We can, and we will. Thank you, Liz." Sarah smiled. 

"Yes, thank you Dr Shaw," Martha said, offering a small smile with her arms crossed as Sarah put her arm around the young doctor, acknowledging her approval. "I’m glad we were able to catch you."

"Don’t thank me. Thank Harriet Jones. If it weren't for her subwave network, none of us would ever know what’s going on. Goodbye."

And with that, the viewscreen clicked off.

Sarah turned to look at Martha, her face one of complete understanding. She pulled her arm back, and waited for Martha to speak. 

"I don’t understand people’s dislike of Torchwood."

"Torchwood was a very big problem for a lot of years, Martha. Now, you and I both know that Jack does indeed try his best. However, even you have to admit that some of his methods are unorthodox." Sarah sighed, crossing her arms. "Especially after losing so many members of his team."

"Yeah." Martha nodded her head, thinking of the team members that Jack had indeed lost due to circumstances beyond his control. She paused, staring off into space long enough to see Sarah’s face change. "Sarah Jane? Are you all right?"

Sarah’s face was indeed one of puzzlement, as she looked around the room before looking down at the floor. A funny feeling clouded her mind, taking her off guard. At first, she was apprehensive until she figured out what it was. Realizing it was harmless, she closed her eyes, and took a deep relaxing breath, focusing her thoughts.

"Yes." Sarah smiled, before opening her eyes. Martha noticed the rather unique sparkle that lit them, and didn’t say anything. "I think I’m going to have a chat with a certain Time Lord downstairs about his use of telepathy."

"The Doctor is telepathic? Since when?" Martha put her hands on her hips, and Sarah smirked. 

"Since, I don't know." Sarah felt his projected emotions resonating through her skin. "All I got was that he’s still resting, and wondering where we are, in a manner of speaking. I don't know that I was necessarily supposed to hear everything he said."

Sarah didn’t want to mention what the Doctor had said, for fear of the look on Martha’s face as his joke was an inside one from a long time ago. However, she saw she didn’t have to explain further. Martha appeared content with her answer.

"Nice," Martha replied with a smile of her own. "Well, then, I guess we better not keep him waiting. I'll stitch him up, and check his hearts before I go. I'll be quick."

"Absolutely," Sarah said, and the two women walked out of the attic.

\--

They found the Doctor lying where they had left him, his eyes opening as soon as he heard their entrance.

"It'll be easier if I can stitch him sitting up. Can you help me, Sarah Jane?" Martha asked. 

"Of course," she said, reaching for the Doctor. Martha prepared her instruments, and then turned to help Sarah. _"I never expected to have a conversation like this."_

Sarah noticed the Doctor’s coy little smile. 

_"You're telling me. You surprised me more than I surprised myself, Sarah,"_ the Doctor replied, looking up at her. They settled him against the sofa. _"Sure you weren’t born on Gallifrey?"_

 _"Is this something they taught on your planet?"_ Sarah raised an eyebrow, keeping her hand on his shoulder, as Martha threaded her needle.

 _"Sometimes. But, the Sisterhood of Karn were picky and only taught their skills to the more advanced Time Lords at the Academy. You would have made an excellent student."_

Sarah wanted to blush and look away, but found that she couldn’t as a small smirk crossed her lips.

"Well, then." Martha spoke aloud, only marginally realizing the interaction between the two, as she turned to face the Doctor with the needle and thread in her hand. She steadied herself. "May I?"

"If you must, Martha Jones."

"She must." Sarah said aloud, and the Doctor sighed. It had been a long time since he had been without a TARDIS, and the distinct pull of Earth’s gravity was beginning to weigh on him. 

"This is going to hurt, but I'll be quick as I can," Martha said.

 _"How are you able to do this?"_ Sarah asked, trying to distract the Doctor, as the Doctor's eyes widened with the first stitch.

 _"What, talk?"_ Trying to focus, the Doctor's head dropped, and Sarah's hand squeezed his shoulder.

_"Without talking, yes."_

_"I don't know. I didn't feel it when I first woke."_

_"Probably because you weren't thinking very much."_

_"You'd like that, wouldn't you?"_

_"I'd like to know what's going on."_

_"You and me both."_

_"What about Martha?"_

_"I'm not getting anything from her, so I don't think she has the ability,"_ the Doctor said, wincing, as Martha pulled the needle through for the final time. She then cut the extra thread, and examined the stitches.

"Promise me you’ll rest," Martha said, noting the Doctor's expression. It was still the same look that she had always seen, only slightly younger or older, depending on how they thought about it. 

"Sarah will make sure I rest, won’t you, Sarah?" The Doctor’s eyes spoke of reassurance, and Martha again appeared satisfied as she looked to Sarah, and Sarah nodded. Martha then gathered her equipment.

"Well, Doctor, it was nice to see you again, despite the circumstances. I can’t wait to hear all about this adventure from the one I know. Unfortunately, it will likely be a lot longer for you than it will be for me." Martha offered a small smile. "I expect a visit."

"If I can remember," the Doctor replied. "Thank you, Martha."

"You’re welcome." Martha saw the look on Sarah's face. "It's alright, I’ll show myself out."

"I’ll ring you later," Sarah said, as Martha moved past her towards the door. Sarah turned her back to the Doctor, but only long enough for him to speak.

_"I suppose she makes a good companion?"_

"Oh no, we are not starting this." Sarah turned back. "You certainly may not have in-depth spoilers."

"Why not?" The Doctor didn’t seem satisfied with speaking aloud, though he was more than willing to go along with it for the moment. 

"Because whatever this is, whatever it’s done to you, we have to find a way to reverse it and send you back to whatever time stream you’re currently on. You’ll mess up everything by staying here."

"You're awfully determined, Sarah." 

"That’s because I am. There was this man I used to know. Taught me a lot about the laws of time and space. Including the consequences of what happens when you’re not where you’re supposed to be."

"All right," the Doctor sighed. "I surrender. Turns out maybe you were listening a time or two."

"More times than you ever thought." The emotional scars of anger and frustration of Aberdeen rose to the surface unexpectedly, and Sarah tried to contain the onslaught of emotions. 

"Sarah—" The Doctor felt Sarah’s emotions pervading his subconscious, taking him a bit off guard. He wasn’t quite sure what he did, except that he could tell that he had done something. When he tried to mentally determine exactly what it was that he had done, he found a rather nice large block into her memories, no doubt of her own doing. He lowered his voice before he spoke again. "Whatever it is, I am sorry."

"It doesn’t matter." Sarah crossed her hands together, fiddling a bit with the rings on her right hand. She knew after her experience with Peter that nothing involving the Doctor would ever be the same, and so far she was right. 

As Sarah went to speak, the sounds of Luke and Clyde coming in the house interrupted them.

"You can’t possibly be serious. A Slitheen—Beating a Judoon—You're not thinking, mate." Clyde had his back to the living room, as Luke closed the front door behind them. "Did you not see the giant ray gun that the Judoon was running around with? Or wasn’t it enough that we were shot at?"

"Whatever, Clyde." Luke shook his head with half of a smile, as they both walked into the living room.

"Looks like our favourite Time Lord is awake." Clyde looked at Luke. The Doctor studied the two teenagers.

"Where's Rani?" Sarah asked.

"Her mum was being demanding about quality family time. Also, she wasn't crazy about the idea of Rani being over here while our infestation was being handled," Luke said. 

"It didn't help that my young padawan began naming all of the insects and bugs that could cause massive home damage," Clyde said, trying not to snicker. "You really should consider putting parental locks on Sir Google, Sarah Jane."

"I couldn't resist," Luke smiled.

"Right—Well, why don’t the two of you head upstairs, and see what Mr Smith has managed to dig up about the TARDIS, hmm?"

"What, no cool introductions or fantastic alien stories?" Clyde replied, as she put her arm around both boys, and motioned them out of the room. 

"Nope, not this time. Off you go—Upstairs. I’ll be there shortly." Sarah stood at the bottom of the stairs, clutching the hand railing. She watched Luke and Clyde climb the rest of the way up to the attic. She didn’t move until she heard the attic door open and close, and went back into the living room. 

_"Your children?"_

_"Luke and his mate Clyde,"_ Sarah said. _"Luke is my son. He’s not your average human."_

"So, I gathered," the Doctor said, and Sarah’s eyebrows rose. "Oh, not for that reason, Sarah. Not that I think you’re not entirely capable—Oh, never mind. I’ll shut up while I’m ahead."

"How long has it been, Doctor, hmm?" Sarah tilted her head, looking at him. She was curious, especially after talking with him and realizing that he knew very little about his current situation. He didn’t have to know what she was asking and how she felt. He heard it emanating from her subconscious as well as the fact that she knew she had already made peace with her fate. _"How long has it been since you left me stranded?"_

"I left you in South Croydon, around the right time, hardly stranding you, Sarah." The Doctor felt her anger dissipate marginally. "So, why are you angry with me? You’ve already made peace about it."

"He didn’t leave me in Aberdeen, you did." Sarah snapped before thinking about the logic of what she had said, rather annoyed at the whole telepathy nonsense. "I've made peace with a different you."

"Aberdeen? Scotland? What the devil did I leave you there for?" The Doctor could have sworn that he had set the coordinates for Croydon. In fact, he remembered pulling the right lever at exactly a twenty-two degree angle, but it was of no use now. "Well, all right then. Not exactly what I had planned, but never the less—You’ve all ready had this conversation before, it seems. I haven’t. So, why rehash it? It’s not like I’m not going to get the brunt of your answer someday. You’re giving me quite a headache, you know." 

The Doctor rubbed his temples with his hand, and Sarah focused on cooling the remainder of her anger.

"Because when not if, you go back, I want you to remember that on planet Earth, there is a hopeful young woman staring up at the stars every night, waiting for you to come back to her, and you never will." Sarah let her words percolate before she left the room. Luke and Clyde were sitting on the stairs with stunned looks on their faces.

"Sarah Jane—" Clyde almost didn't have time to get her name out, trying not to melt from the sheer power of her glare. Sarah walked towards her front door, opened it, and slammed it behind her. Clyde and Luke both heard the Doctor’s groan from the other room.

"So, what are we going to do now?" Luke asked, and Clyde stared at the front door. 

"Your guess is as good as mine," Clyde said, sighing.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They deal with the remnants of Aberdeen, and find the TARDIS.

Having seen Sarah's hasty exit, Clyde and Luke entered the living room to find the Doctor still sitting on the sofa. His shoulders hunched inward, his head leaned on one palm, as he sighed. Luke and Clyde exchanged glances, as K-9 scooted around Clyde's right side.

"Master, you have returned," K-9 chimed, his antennas waggling back and forth. The Doctor's lifted his head from his hand, and the Doctor smirked, his grin beginning to show.

"Indeed I have, K-9," the Doctor said, noticing the lack of wear and tear along his metal exterior. "My, you're awful shiny."

"I am K-9, mark four," K-9 said, his antennas wagging back and forth. "K-9 mark three was terminated at the Deffry Vale school in a battle with the Krillitane."

"Terminated?" the Doctor asked, his grin lowering. 

"Affirmative," K-9 said, inching closer to the Doctor. Like any other animal, the Doctor patted the top of his body. K-9's antennas moved back and forth a hair faster than before.

"I’m going to go check on Sarah Jane, mate," Clyde whispered, noting the fresh stitches across the Doctor's left cheek. He patted Luke’s shoulder before turning, and exiting. 

With the only light being that of the front step, Clyde's eyes took a moment to readjust. He didn't see Sarah anywhere in the drive, and headed around the house towards the garden. He found Sarah's darkened silhouette sitting on her swing, staring upwards towards the night sky.

Clyde thought that maybe he would speak first, that is, until he heard her sigh.

"I promise I'm not going to bite." Sarah lowered her eyes to look at him, and suddenly Clyde felt uncomfortable under her watch. He approached, debating how to answer.

"No, no, I know that," Clyde replied, swallowing the lump in his throat. He had seen Sarah's anger before, but never as calm or as collected without at least knowing her opinion. 

"I take it that you both heard our conversation?"

"Most of it, yeah." Clyde shoved his hands into his pockets, and looked away. Sarah had never been as forthcoming with her emotions as he or Rani had, but he knew she was much better than what she used to be. He hadn’t meant for either him or Luke to get caught listening to her conversation with the Doctor. "We didn't mean to."

The swing moved, as Clyde sat. 

"Are you okay?" Clyde’s genuine concern touched Sarah. 

"I think so," Sarah said. She could feel the Doctor’s presence standing on the outskirts of her mind, and if she closed her eyes, she could see the tails of his long colourful scarf whipping in the wind, as he stared at her. It thrilled her and frightened her to no end, and she tried pushing her direct thoughts of him to the back of her mind.

She didn't want to admit that in the back of her mind, she could feel his uneasiness at seeing her again.

"So, what was all that junk about Aberdeen?" Clyde's eyes moved upwards in the same path hers had to avoid Sarah’s watch. "He left you there?"

"A long time ago." Sarah remembered the weeklong trip it took her to return home to South Croydon, where she proceeded to have several stiff cries at her aunt Lavinia’s and Harry's expense. 

"Must have been one helluva walk back."

"It was." 

"And you forgave him?" Clyde thought back the TARDIS parked in Sarah’s attic. He remembered the looks between the Doctor and Sarah. The forlorn looks had nothing to do with Aberdeen, and everything to do with the Trickster and Peter Dalton. Maybe something else, but Clyde wasn't keen on speculating without Rani.

"Yes." Sarah's voice softened. "But, some things are not as simple as we would like them to be."

"Nothing we ever do is," Clyde said.

"Oh, Clyde," Sarah said, sighing. She didn’t want Clyde and Luke and Rani to ever worry as much about her as she worried about them. However, as time went on, she could never control their thoughts or feelings. It would continue to be a futile attempt on her part, and she knew that. "It’s even more complicated than that."

"He needs our help, yeah?"

"Yes."

"Then how complicated can it be? He's the Doctor, and we don’t know what we’re up against. Whatever it is, whatever he’s done—You and him have always worked things out, haven’t you?"

"I suppose you’re right," Sarah said, pondering Clyde’s words. 

"I mean, what’s the Doctor and Sarah Jane's score count on Earth?"

"Aliens 5, us times infinity," Sarah smiled for the first time, feeling less burdened. It didn’t make the pain of seeing him, and having the conversation about Aberdeen with him any less significant. However, Clyde’s logic did point out a few flaws in her current mind set.

"So, we find out where the Doctor’s from, and where he needs to be." Clyde’s eyes were determined, and all Sarah could do was smile. Many times, she didn’t feel as though her teens actually listened. However, it was moments like this that she was glad that they did. "We can do this, Sarah Jane."

"I know we can." Sarah slung her arm across Clyde’s shoulder, much like she had done to Luke countless times. Giving it a small squeeze, she released him so that they both could stand up. They began making their way towards the house.

"It’s probably going to involve aliens, isn’t it?" Clyde almost rolled his eyes, but caught himself. 

"Oh, I have no doubts about that. Who knows, we might come into contact with an alien of your wildest imagination," Sarah laughed for the first time, once again slinging her arm across Clyde’s shoulder, as they approached her door. "Think we can scrounge up some clean clothes for an injured Time Lord?"

"We fight aliens, Sarah Jane. Clothes? Piece of cake," Clyde smirked.

\--

Sarah and Clyde entered the living room to find Luke handing the Doctor a cup of tea. K-9 was nowhere to be found.

"You are a marvellous young man, thank you." Luke nodded at the Doctor’s approval as he took a step back. The Doctor had noticed Sarah and Clyde entering, and didn’t want to upset her anymore than he knew she was all ready upset. As he took his first sip, the Doctor projected. _"Doesn’t make a bad spot of tea either, my Sarah."_

Sarah tried to smile.

"Where's the dog?" Clyde asked, his hands in his back pockets. 

"Mr Smith needed him," Luke replied. 

"Those two? In the same room? Good grief. We should go check on them before K-9 pulls out his laser." Clyde’s subtle way of trying to get Luke to leave the Doctor and Sarah to work things out didn’t go unnoticed, as Luke nodded.

"Good idea," Luke said, making his way around the couch. Sarah and Clyde shared a small look, as Luke followed Clyde up the stairs and out of sight.

"It seems you are well taken care of," the Doctor spoke aloud, taking another deep sip of his tea. He winced, as the semi-strong hot brew made its way down his throat. "Your young son knows a great deal about the universe. No doubt thanks to you."

Sarah stood with her arms crossed, processing his words. 

"I don’t want him to be afraid of what's out there." Sarah didn’t want to appear weak in this moment. She had had far too many other weak moments in her history with the Doctor, and she didn’t want this to be one of them.

She took one step towards the Doctor, keeping her awareness at the proximity of space between them as she continued to speak. "Because the universe is a wonderful place that has a lot to offer and a lot to learn. I've tried to instil that in Luke, Rani, and Clyde. However, I want them to always be aware of their surroundings with who and what they come into contact with. Good and bad."

"It’s a noble feat, Sarah." The Doctor’s willingness to agree with her rattled a tiny nerve in Sarah’s brain. On one hand, she wanted to throw her brilliant gang of children in his face, showing him that she had moved past her adventures with him. However, on the other hand, her common sense told her that she would again see the current him, and know that she probably made an ass of herself.

"Thank you." Sarah seemed both satisfied with her response, and with the expression on his face. He continued to sip his tea for a moment, and closed his eyes to revel in the comfort that a simple hot cup of tea provided him. 

"I’ve started to remember things. Nothing of significance, though. A feeling here, a memory there. Mostly fuzzy, but I thought I should let you know, in case—In case something were to happen."

"What are you expecting to happen?" A concerned expression crossed Sarah's brow. Her mind counted all of the possibilities, without being able to consider the possibilities that she hadn’t thought of because she didn’t know what they were up against. "Maybe you should start from the beginning."

Sarah sat down next to him, and the Doctor leaned forward to match her posture, setting his tea on the table in front of them.

"I remember asking the Judoon to take me to you. Vaguely. Eh, it doesn’t matter. I’m fairly sure I asked for you."

"Why? Why ask for me specifically?"

"Who else would I want to see me like this? _You’re my Sarah._ " The Doctor looked at her, almost not realizing that he had projected the thought. Sarah felt her insides melt ever so slightly because she knew that he hadn’t meant to project it. She didn’t want to be mad at him at any capacity, and sensed from the look on his face that he was as agitated with their situation as he was with himself for the mistake of Aberdeen. 

This ability to experience his senses was still completely foreign to her, and her brain was still adjusting to the open give and take between them. Sarah wondered if she even liked the experience at all, but put a kibosh on the train of thought before it was projected to him. 

They heard the sounds of Clyde and Luke coming down the stairs, and looked away from one another. The Doctor sighed, as Clyde and Luke entered the living room. They paused next to each other at the same spot once they approached the Doctor and Sarah Jane.

"Mr Smith thinks he may have found the TARDIS," Luke blurted out before Clyde got the chance to say anything. 

"Yeah, and we thought you might want to take a look," Clyde continued, exchanging a pleasing smirk with Luke as they both turned their attention to Sarah. "That’s good, right?"

There was a second of silence, as the Doctor and Sarah exchanged glances, and the Doctor shrugged. 

"That is good, right, Sarah Jane?" Clyde repeated himself, and Sarah stood up and came around the sofa, putting both of her arms around them. She led them out of the room. Of course it was a good thing, Sarah reasoned with herself.

 _"Be back,"_ Sarah said, following the boys. She heard a rather muffled sigh come from the Doctor, but he didn’t respond, as they entered the attic. 

"Mr Smith, we need you," Clyde said to the built-in supercomputer, shoving his hands in his back pockets as he stepped down from the attic landing with Luke and Sarah following behind him. Mr Smith’s doors came flying open, as his main panel came forward.

"Luke. Sarah Jane. Clyde," Mr Smith said. "How can I be of assistance?"

"Clyde said you found the TARDIS," Sarah spoke next, stepping one step in front of Clyde, but still standing between him and Luke. "So, let’s hear it. Where is it?"

"The TARDIS is currently spinning in orbit around an oceanic planet known as Mellos-Seven, Sarah Jane. From what I can gather from the angle of the TARDIS and the gravitational pull of the planet, it has been floating there for some time."

"Could it be adrift, Mr Smith?" Luke asked next, his scientific curiosity taking the better of him. "Is it possible?" 

"It is entirely possible. However, it is highly unlikely that the Doctor would leave the TARDIS in such a freestyle orbit," Mr Smith replied.

"Then there’s a chance that he didn’t mean to," Sarah said. "What else do we know about this Mellos-Seven, Mr Smith? Any significant lifeforms? What about oxygen? Is it a breathable atmosphere?"

The screen shifted as Mr Smith pulled the schematics of Mellos-Seven from his database, complete with concentric orbiting circles and topographic maps. They all stared at the information presented, as Mr Smith spoke.

"Mellos-Seven, located in the BX4312 galaxy, is home to the Vodnagens, a series of bi-pedal aliens similar to humans in stature. Due to their mainly oceanic environment, their bluish skin and gill-like respiratory system resembles more of Earth’s aquatic species though they are fully capable of sustaining life above water."

"Like something out of a video game," Clyde said.

"Are they harmful?" Sarah asked next, to which Mr Smith continued to rattle off random information about the species.

"At present day count, their capital city of Velkograd boasts more than seven-billion Vodnagens, taking up approximately one-third of the entire surface of the planet. Of course, this does not take into consideration any of the smaller provinces or the uninhabitable regions. They are famous for any number of—" 

"Are they harmful, Mr Smith?" Sarah snapped back at the supercomputer, mildly annoyed that he was continuing to rattle off information even as she asked him a single question.

"According to my findings, they are not harmful, Sarah Jane. In fact, they are considered to be peacekeeping officers of the universe. Unlike the Judoon, the Vodnagens believe in non-violent confrontations and govern as such."

"Peacekeeping? Then why have we never heard of them before now?" Sarah asked.

"I am unsure," Mr Smith replied. "They are very active members of the Shadow Proclamation."

"So where does that leave us then?" Clyde asked, chiming in with an obviously confused expression on his face. "This could be the Doctor’s TARDIS, or it could be the Doctor’s TARDIS. We don’t know which one it belongs to. As it is, we can’t just call up these Volkswagens, and ask them why they have a TARDIS in their parking lot, now can we?"

"Could we try to date the TARDIS?" Luke suggested next, and got two rather strange looks from both Sarah and Clyde. "Like Carbon-14 dating. We read about it in school. Maybe if we could figure out how old this particular TARDIS is, we would have a better idea of which Doctor this TARDIS belongs to. We could have Mr Smith and K-9 run the computations and use the power of the subwave network and the rift in Cardiff."

"Luke is correct, Sarah Jane. Although, working with K-9 always proves futile. It would take several hours to begin the computations for something of this scale."

"The TARDIS produces artron energy." Clyde jumped in, thinking of how the TARDIS energy pulsed through him. He still felt a tingle of the ship's energy during thunderstorms. "Could you use that to help?"

"An excellent suggestion, young Clyde. I will take artron energy into account while making my computations."

"K-9?" Sarah turned towards the metal dog, who had kept quiet until now.

"Yes, Mistress?" 

"Help Mr Smith with the computations, alright? No muss and no fuss. We don't have time for any shenanigans," Sarah said, wanting the project to begin so that they could figure out what was going on. 

"Affirmative," K-9 replied, moving towards the supercomputer.

Sarah could feel the Doctor’s mind probing into hers, wanting to know the details during this entire conversation since she had left his side. However, Sarah didn’t give him the opportunity, and kept him standing on the outside of her thoughts until she could fully answer him. 

"As you wish, Sarah Jane." If Mr Smith was an actual human being, Sarah could have sworn that she heard the supercomputer sigh. She knew of his penchant against K-9, but shrugged it off. She turned to face Clyde, tilting her head with a hand on her hip.

"So, you were saying something about clothes?" Sarah smiled.

\--

Sarah had sent Clyde back home with Luke after Clyde swore that he had some of his dad’s clothes that his mother had never thrown away. This left her alone in the house with the Doctor, who had remained rather subdued.

Content with another few moments of peace and quiet, Sarah sat at her desk and opened her email, scanning through the contents as she noticed the rather large amount of spam email that had pervaded her inbox.

After deleting more than one hundred, answering three and deleting two more, she looked over to see K-9 working with Mr Smith, his antenna touching one of the side consoles. Nothing was said between the two sources, but Sarah figured that they were both trying to be on their best behaviour.

That’s when she felt the Doctor’s mind poking around in hers, and she craned her neck, politely asking him to stop. He stopped for a minute before trying again, annoying her repeatedly.

_"Found my TARDIS?"_

_"You’ve asked me three times in three minutes and the answer is the same. No, so stop asking."_

_"Well, that attitude will never find her, at any rate. Perhaps—"_

_"Doctor."_ Sarah closed her eyes. _"Please, I can’t concentrate. You may have the hang of this telepathy thing, but I certainly don’t. We’re doing the best we possibly can."_

_"Oh, I don’t doubt it. But, you haven’t told me anything, Sarah. How can I possibly begin to try and be of some help if you’re not telling me what’s going on? I’m not paralyzed in the mind, you know."_

Sarah closed her eyes and took another longer deeper breath. She closed her email and stood up, making her way back downstairs. The house was rather quiet, and she wasn’t sure if she liked it that way or not, pausing on the stairs before entering the living room.

"How are you feeling?" she said, standing close with her arms crossed. The Doctor was lying down, but looked up at her. 

"How does one feel after being beaten, Sarah?"

"Alright, then, never mind."

"Dr Jones did an excellent job." The Doctor touched the stitches on his face, wincing. "I’m sure she’ll be worthy, when the time comes."

"Worthy? Heh, she’s more than that. She’s brilliant. After everything you did—" Sarah grew impatient, and stopped speaking, looking away as the Doctor sighed. "Everything you and the Master and your stupid paradoxes will do to her and her family. She’s a survivor. Do well to remember that."

The Doctor began rubbing his head, and Sarah looked towards the floor. "I don’t mean to be so cross, really. I’m sorry."

There was a moment of silence and regret on Sarah’s part before the Doctor replied.

"Eh, I’ve seen worse. Mind helping me sit up a bit? I think it’d do my head some good to be on my shoulders." The Doctor began to sit up, only to have Sarah move to help him. When he was finally upright, he did nothing more than hold his head while Sarah sat next to him, one arm across his back and the other touching his arm. "I heard those two young ones of yours leave again. Where did they head off to now?"

"Clyde’s, to find you something respectable to wear. I don’t normally keep an entire wardrobe of men’s clothing in my closet." Sarah resisted the urge to blush and instead, noted the pain on the Doctor’s face. "Is the pain that bad?"

"Without the TARDIS, it's miserable." The Doctor sighed, as his arms dropped to rest on his knees, and Sarah didn’t move. "A lot of good it does me now, of course."

"Mr Smith found a TARDIS," Sarah bit her lip, wondering if revealing such information was wise.

"I know," he said, looking at her. "I didn’t want to wait for you to tell me. So, I snuck around a bit. You really should learn how to build better mental defences you know. You never know when someone might go in through a different door."

"Well, I suppose that someone who knows how to build better defences should teach me." Sarah retracted her arms, looking at him. "So, if you know that, what else do you know?"

"Well, that you don’t know if its mine or not. I don’t remember ever having been to the BX4312 galaxy, except maybe it wasn’t called the BX4312 galaxy when I went there. Don’t suppose I could peruse a star map of any kind, do you?"

"As you said, you’re not paralyzed from the mind. But, I cannot drag Mr Smith down here, and you most certainly cannot do all those stairs. That’ll have to be enough."

"You do make a fuss, Sarah."

"So, you’ve said," Sarah said. 

_"If only we had some answers."_

"Maybe tomorrow, hmm? Maybe things will be clearer and we can figure out what’s going on between us. Something’s not right; we both know that. We’ve never been able to communicate like this before. There’s a reason for everything."

"Possibly." The Doctor stared out for a moment, counting the possibilities. "But, if I had to be stuck with someone who can roam around my head? I’m glad it’s someone I trust. Never mind the rest. We’ll figure it out. We have before."

A sudden noise alerted Sarah as the boys came in. Clyde was first, with a blue backpack across one shoulder, with Luke behind him. "Ahh, yes, I see my sense of style has arrived."

The Doctor winked, and Sarah smiled.


End file.
